NOW Function (LibreOffice Calc)

• Returns the current date and time
• Updates on recalculation
• Returns a serial number (date + fractional day)
• Can be formatted as date, time, or both
• Works in all major spreadsheet applications

It is designed to be dynamic, real-time, and ideal for dashboards and automation.

NOW()

Arguments

• None.

Current date and time

=NOW()

Format as date only

=INT(NOW())

Format as time only

=NOW() - INT(NOW())

Use NOW in a label

="Report generated on: " & TEXT(NOW(); "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM:SS")

Calculate hours since a timestamp

=(NOW() - A1) * 24

Calculate minutes since a timestamp

=(NOW() - A1) * 1440

Calculate seconds since a timestamp

=(NOW() - A1) * 86400

Auto-updating age in days

=NOW() - A1

Auto-updating age in years

=YEAR(NOW()) - YEAR(A1) - (DATE(YEAR(NOW());MONTH(A1);DAY(A1)) > NOW())

Timestamp difference between two NOW snapshots

=(B1 - A1) * 24

Dynamic countdown to a deadline

=A1 - NOW()

Dynamic “time since last update”

=NOW() - A1

Convert NOW to ISO timestamp

=TEXT(NOW(); "YYYY-MM-DD\"T\"HH:MM:SS")

Use NOW in a dashboard header

="Last updated: " & TEXT(NOW(); "YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM")

NOW updates when:

• The sheet recalculates
• You edit any cell
• You press F9
• You reopen the file

NOW does not update:

• Every second
• In real-time without recalculation
• When the file is closed

To freeze a timestamp:

=NOW()

Then copy → Paste Special → Values Only.

NOW returns a number, not text

NOW includes both date and time

NOW uses system clock

NOW ignores locale formatting

Formatting is applied separately.

NOW recalculates based on spreadsheet settings

(Manual vs automatic recalculation)

NOW of an error → error propagates

• Use NOW for dynamic dashboards
• Use TODAY when you only need the date
• Use INT(NOW()) to strip time
• Use NOW() - A1 for elapsed time
• Freeze timestamps with Paste Special → Values
• Use TEXT(NOW()) for readable labels

• Use TODAY for date-only
• Use TIME for constructing times
• Use DATE for constructing dates
• Use HOUR, MINUTE, SECOND for extraction
• Use VALUE to convert text timestamps

By mastering NOW and its companion functions, you can build powerful, real-time, and fully dynamic workflows in LibreOffice Calc.